Parents, be early for Ohio State commencement

Ohio State officials hope that having more than half the gates at Ohio Stadium open for Sunday's commencement ceremony will help ease the expected congestion.

Encarnacion Pyle, The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio State officials hope that having more than half the gates at Ohio Stadium open for Sunday’s commencement ceremony will help ease the expected congestion.

Spectators will be able to enter through 16 of the stadium’s gates.

On the east side, gates 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 will be open. On the west side, gates 11, 13, 15, 17, 23 and 25 will be open, and in the south stands, gates 31, 35, 36, 37 and 38 will be open.

Individuals with medical needs or wheelchairs should use gates 15, 20 or 31, officials said.

Details about graduation have become clearer as the university works out things with commencement speaker President Barack Obama’s staff and the Secret Service, Ohio State spokeswoman Amy Murray said.

State transportation officials warn that interstates and roads around Ohio State University, including Rt. 315, could be jammed on Sunday, especially when the president arrives and leaves campus. Obama is flying in and out of Rickenbacker Airport.

“They can come in and go whichever route they want and do whatever. It’s the president of the United States,” Ohio Department of Transportation spokeswoman Nancy Burton posted on Twitter yesterday.

OSU officials are urging people to arrive at Ohio Stadium by 7:30 a.m. so they have plenty of time to find parking and get through security.Obama is the third sitting president to give the keynote speech to Ohio State graduates. George W. Bush spoke in 2002 and Gerald Ford in 1974. Both George H.W. Bush and Walter Mondale were commencement speakers while they were vice president, and Bill Clinton spoke after he was president.

A total of 10,143 seniors are graduating this spring, making it the second-largest graduating class in the university’s history. Ohio State is expecting about 8,700 of those graduates to attend on Sunday, and between 60,000 and 70,000 guests to be at the ceremony, which begins with a procession of the graduates at noon. “That’s bigger than some NCAA games,” joked Deputy Chief Richard Morman of the OSU police.Those attending are encouraged to bring ponchos for a slight possibility of rain. Heavier rain would cause a delay of the ceremony; storms would cancel it.

Spectators will go through metal detectors that will be just inside the gates, then proceed to the assigned seating section on their tickets, Morman said.

Like many law-enforcement agencies, the OSU police have “looked at, analyzed, learned from and made some changes” since the bombings on April 15 at the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured more than 260, he said. Besides the metal detectors and any lines that back up, most people shouldn’t really be affected by the heightened security, he said.

To avoid lengthy delays, people are asked to check commencement.osu.edu before Sunday so they know what items will be prohibited. Among them: backpacks, coolers, liquids of any kind, metal seat cushions or seats that clamp onto bleachers, and umbrellas.

To help entertain guests, Ohio State will run a series of videos about the accomplishments of the graduating class of 2013 on the stadium scoreboard. There also will be live announcers who will roam the stadium, giving students and their family and friends a chance to tell their “But for Ohio State” stories, said Javaune Adams-Gaston, OSU’s vice president for student life.

The concession stands will open at 7:30 a.m., selling beverages and some food.